excellence.

vince lombardi, a legendary football coach, once said “the quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” i had the opportunity to teach this skill to a class of third graders as i was filling in for a teacher yesterday. today, with the same class, i worked to reinforce the qualities that make an excellent student. sadly, one of them informed me that he didn’t “care to be an excellent student.” he added, “it doesn’t matter to me one way or the other if i succeed or not in life.”

the more i thought about this response throughout the day, the more i realized how utterly destructive this mindset is and can be for an individual. albert einstein argued that one should “try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.”

what is your goal in life? is it to simply enjoy every moment to the fullest, or is it purposeful?

are you a person of value?

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with that, i’d like to introduce the first installment of a post title i’m initiating: love vs. hate. as a child i played a car game called goofy morris. in that game you tried to trick your friends – and in the process, help them figure out what goofy morris loves and hates.

no trickery here. we all have love/hate relationships…and with my efforts to allow you, internet, to get to know me as more than just a photographer but a person as well, i’d like to share my loves and hates, however often they come to mind.

1. i absolutely must express how much i love a fast internet connection. when working properly, i am able to get much accomplished in a short amount of time.

2. i love my husband. he is the best. i couldn’t do half of what i am able to if it weren’t for his love, support, and constant willingness to go above and beyond in assisting me. (and really, if i knew anything about architecture, i’d help him in return…but i don’t.)

3. i love shootdotedit. it’s my new best friend. seriously. i am a total perfectionist (yes, ocd at times), and have never been able to relax while others do a job for me (i despised group projects in school). but i did it. i finally outsourced for the first time and i’m hooked. i had almost a thousand images to color correct (some really over and under-exposed ones that I desperately wanted to save and as a test to them, too) and no time to do it. they took them, made them look amazing, and now i get to make an album out of them. all while spending time with my family and working on other projects that are far less tedious – and a better use of my time.

4. i love due dates. with them, i’m so much more productive.

5. i love teaching students that want to learn, and desire to be a person of value. honestly, it makes my day.

1. i can’t stand it when my internet connection doesn’t work. when running a large amount of my business online, this is very upsetting. and it has happened too many times this month. we are attempting to change companies…ugh.

2. i hate due dates (yes, i know i contradict myself). i put myself under so much pressure to over-perform that i can’t sleep at night. yeah…this has been one of those weeks. laying awake rehearsing and visualizing how my day will go before it even comes. and when it comes, it doesn’t go at all how i expected it to. at least my husband falls asleep quickly so we’re not both useless the next day.

3. i hate feeling like i haven’t given of my best. and while it hurts, i’m also ok with this feeling because it pushes me to do better – to strive for excellence in every area of my life. i am constantly learning, and practicing, and studying, and researching, and figuring out what i can do or how i can do it – not so that it is “perfect,” but so i can give my best for the One that matters most of all.

4. i hate when things don’t line up. yes, that’s why there’s a #4 in this section. confession #1: i used to go home after classes and re-write my class notes because they weren’t neat enough, didn’t line up, or had some minor blemish that made them impossible to study from. confession #2: my family loves to tell stories about how i would re-arrange the candy at the checkout stands because they weren’t in proper order. yes, i’m crazy.

5. i don’t hate it, but it sure is frustrating to teach kids that don’t want or care about learning. and i hate that i can’t fix everything, no matter how hard i try.

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so there you have it. my conviction for the day is to be a person of value – not striving for success in and of myself, but to allow myself to be used for a far greater purpose.

Reece + Katrina are a husband and wife photography duo who specialize in weddings and high school seniors.